Noori, world’s first cloned Pashmina goat
Noorie, the world’s first cloned Pashmina goat, passed away on March 20th, 2023, at the age of 11. Born on March 9th, 2012, Noori made history as the first Pashmina goat to be cloned. Her birth was the result of years of hard work and dedication by Dr. Riaz Ahmad Shah, Dr. Syed Hilal Yaqoob, Dr. Maajid Hassan Bhat, Dr. Mujeeb Fazili, Firdous Ahmad Khan, and their colleagues at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir in Shuhama, 13 km to the east of Srinagar.
The successful cloning of Noori, which took two years, was funded by the World Bank, which runs the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. This groundbreaking achievement was a result of the scientists’ dedication and a new technique that was developed, different from the one utilized to produce Dolly, the world’s first cloned sheep in 1996.
Noorie’s cloning was seen as a breakthrough in the cloning of endangered species, and the success was expected to assist in cloning the endangered species of Kashmir stag (hangul).
Dr. Riaz and his team purchased a flock of goats from Ladakh to isolate an egg cell, administer Pashmina goat DNA, and give rise to an embryo that would develop into a fetus, which was cloned as Noori.
Pashmina goats are found at an altitude of above 10,000 meters in the Ladakh region, where they thrive in cold and arid conditions. They grow their undercoat months before the winters start drawing nearer. Rearers comb their wooly coat to extract the prized fiber, which is used to create Pashmina wool, a soft, delicate fiber worth fortunes in the market. Noori was cloned from the DNA of a Pashmina goat with a lustrous coat, giving rise to an exact duplicate with an equally beautiful coat.
To create Noori, scientists isolated an egg cell from a Pashmina goat, extracted its innards, and created space for administering the DNA of the donor goat. Once the DNA integrated, the egg cell was combined with skin cells from the donor Pashmina goat, leading to the creation of an embryo that would develop into a fetus. Dr. Riaz’s team had to build a state-of-the-art laboratory first before they could carry out the cloning process. The team had to ensure that the laboratory had the appropriate equipment, including specialized microscopes, incubators, and other essential tools needed to manipulate cells and embryos.
The process was not easy as the technique was not standardized in India, unlike at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) in Karnal, where Dr. Riaz had previously cloned a buffalo named Garima. Dr. Riaz’s team had to build a state-of-the-art lab and learn how to preserve an embryo and transfer it into recipients. The funding package of INR 2 crore for four years breathed life into the project. Noori was named by Dr. Riaz’s colleague, Prof Maqbool Darzi, meaning light, as her coat was lustrous.
Noori’s cloning was hailed as a significant achievement, and her birth was covered by the media, with former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah cradling the newborn Noori in his bosom.
It opened up new possibilities for preserving rare and endangered animal species. It also paved the way for advancements in biotechnology and animal husbandry. Noori’s death is a significant loss to the scientific community, but her legacy will live on. Her contribution to science will be remembered for years to come.
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